Why 'Survival Sex' Is the Only Option for Some Homeless LGBTQ Kids

“How do you get money when no one will hire you?"

The American LGBTQ community is facing a severe homelessness crisis. The lack of understanding surrounding the specific needs of LGBTQ youth, coupled with hostile religious and gang-infused environments, make homeless shelters very unsafe for LGBTQ teens, forcing some to sell their bodies just to stay alive.

Nearly a year ago, a detailed study of LGBTQ youth in New York City shed light on "survival sex," or trading sex for food, a place to sleep, or other basic needs. Over three years, the Urban Institute interviewed 283 youth who reported engaging in survival sex. The study, Surviving the Streets of New York, demonstrates the dire need of government-funded shelter beds and other resources focused on LGBTQ youth.

While estimates vary, most figures put LGBTQ youth at 40% of the homeless youth population. Of all homeless LGBTQ youth, 68% have experienced family rejection and more than half (54%) experienced abuse in their family. The National Runaway Safeline reports that 80% of all female runaways were physically or sexually abused at home before fleeing to the streets. According to a New York Times article from 2009, nearly 1 in 3 homeless youth are involved in survival sex during their time on the streets.

To learn more about this ongoing crisis, we spoke with Carl Siciliano, executive director and founder of New York City’s Ali Forney Center, the nation's largest agency dedicated to LGBTQ homeless youth in the country. Siciliano, a former Benedictine monk, was named a White House Champion of Change by President Obama, who cited the wide recognition AFC's programs have received for their quality and innovation.

“When I started working with homeless kids, I saw the desperation and degradation that forced them into trading their bodies for survival. One of the fundamental issues is that you’ve got a situation where there are all these LGBT youth that are disproportionately making up the homeless youth population,” Siciliano explains.

Not only that, but there are way more homeless kids than there are beds. The Department of Justice estimates that every year, over 1.7 million teens experience homelessness in the U.S.

“There are about 4,000 youth shelter beds in this country, so right off the bat, you’ve got a situation where there are way more homeless kids than there are places to stay,” says Siciliano.

“A lot of the youth shelters are run by religious organizations, so LGBTQ youth have a difficult time getting off of the streets, and when you’re outside, and you’re scared and hungry and desperate. Who’s going to hire you? You’re dirty, you’re a mess, so how do you survive? [Survival sex is] something these young people are forced into it by a broader neglect of the reality of youth homelessness.”

If you consider homophobia and bigotry forms of child abuse, then religion is oftentimes responsible for the child abuse that forces LGBTQ youth out of their homes. Of course, not all religious families throw out their family members for being LGBTQ, but many of the largest U.S. religious institutions have remained firmly against allowing same-sex marriage, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Jewish movement, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as the Southern Baptist Convention and other evangelical Protestant denominations. That lack of support implicates broader issues, and it’s easy to understand why shelters run by the church are off limits for someone like a 17-year-old lesbian girl. Another issue is the dangerous environments fostered in the other popular option for the homeless: warehouse shelters.

“The broader issue is warehousing homeless people and the vulnerabilities it creates for LGBTQ kids,” explains Siciliano. “There’s a lot of gang involvement in homeless youth, and gangs are pretty homophobic. I have [LGBTQ] kids telling me that they’ll be sleeping at these warehouse shelters, which can have hundreds and hundreds of beds, and the other dorm kid will drag them into the bathroom and kick their teeth out. They become so terrified of the gang members that they don’t tell the staff, they just leave and sleep outside.”

It’s heartbreaking but not surprising to realize that the America that forces LGBTQ teens out of their homes is the same America that is unable to provide proper structure for them in its homeless shelter system. Agencies like Siciliano’s Ali Forney Center are fighting for more beds in safer conditions, specifically for LGBTQ youth, who are more at risk for violence, domestic abuse, substance abuse, depression, suicide, and participation in survival sex. Within the LGBTQ community, people of color are at the highest risk.

When you’re too scared to sleep in a homeless shelter, and you don’t have a place like AFC, for LGBTQ homeless teens, survival sex may be your last resort. “There isn’t a range of reasons for survival sex. You just have no way to support yourself, no food, no place to sleep. They describe sleeping in McDonald’s and how you have to keep your head up because if you put your head down they’ll throw you out,” says Siciliano.

“The kids sneak into buildings and sleep in hallways, and they sleep on the subway. Some get memberships at Planet Fitness just to sit in the heated massage chair for an hour before having to go back outside. So, how do you get money when no one will hire you? The kids will say that if you go and hustle, you might get $50 or $75, and it makes all the difference in the world when you’re homeless.“

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a national study of middle and high school students shows that LGBTQ students were more likely than their non-LGBTQ peers to feel unsafe or uncomfortable as a result of their sexual orientation or identity. More than 80% of LGBTQ students of color in one survey were verbally harassed in school because of their sexual orientation. In order to help the LGBTQ youth population, the CDC recommends schools offer a safe place specifically for LGBTQ kids to find support. Furthermore, LGBTQ teens should have access to general health, sexual health, and mental health services to meet their unique needs.

If we apply similar recommendations to America’s homeless youth system, the government should be funding more agencies like AFC, which provides a safer and more supportive structure for at-risk youth. Since their launch in 2002 with just 6 beds in a church basement, the organization has grown to become the largest agency dedicated to LGBTQ homeless youth in the country — assisting nearly 1,400 youth per year through 10 housing sites and the only 24-hour drop-in center for LGBTQ youth in the country. They provide food, clothing, showers, laundry, an on-site medical clinic, an on-site mental health clinic, licensed substance abuse counselors, and even an art therapy room.

Until families stop forcing LGBTQ youth onto the streets, organizations around the country like AFC are critical. If you need help, resources like The Trevor Project are helpful for any LGBTQ teen in a crisis. And if you want to help, donating money or necessary resources is the best way you can help.